nbthalia This movie has a very promising start. A veteran sheriff squints through his windscreen as he drives down a mist-shrouded road. Suddenly, he strikes a pedestrian hard who collides with the windscreen and rolls off. Then he struggles to his feet and runs away. The film then descends into a confusing mêlée of American and Asian characters, subtitles and a strange and often baffling plot involving exotic pets and various unbelievable situations. For instance, would an attractive young lady really open her hotel door to admit an evil-looking character to use her phone, simply because he was of the same race as her, therefore presumably trustworthy? The acting can only be described as sluggish and underplayed to a torpor-inducing point. It was very consistent but not in a good way. By the way, could anyone explain why in a couple of scenes the (admittedly very decorative) female lead was shown toying with a cut-throat razor? My main gripe, though is that this movie is too slow and complex to really work well.

The Couchpotatoes My wife being from Reno the movie title caught my eye. I had absolutely no clue what it was going to be about. I didn't read any reviews before watching it, just saw it was a mystery/crime and that's the kind of movies I like so I gave it a shot. I didn't regret it. It's a good movie but you for sure have to stay alert every second because you might miss something because of the many twists. I might even have to watch it a second time to get more answers. The mix of Japanese and English worked very well. To me the two stars of the movie are Ayako Fujitani and Pepe Serna. Very good performances both of them. Surely worth a watch or even two to get everything.

Turfseer "Man from Reno" is Indie Director's Dave Boyle's fifth feature, a neo-noir featuring two inter-connected stories, one in English and the other in Japanese. The story begins with small-town sheriff Paul Del Moral (expertly played by Pepe Serna), in fictional San Marco County, north of San Francisco. While driving one night in the fog, Del Moral runs into a man who turns out to be a Japanese national, later disappearing from the hospital, before the sheriff can interview him.Along with his daughter (who's also an officer in the sheriff's department) Del Moral attempts to learn the identity of the man who has disappeared. Del Moral's investigations eventually leads him to Aki Akahori (Ayako Fujitani), a mystery writer who's famous in Japan for her Inspector Takabe series. Aki has checked herself into the Majestic Hotel in San Francisco but is intentionally no longer checking in with her publicist who reports to the press back in Japan that she's a missing person.Meanwhile Aki falls for a handsome stranger staying at the hotel, Akira Suzuki (Kazuki Kitamura), who also ends up disappearing. There's a McGuffin involved here, a set of endangered turtles, whom a bunch of bad guys are trying to get their hands on.Sheri Linden writing in "The Hollywood Reporter" notes problems with the "Man from Reno" second act: "Beyond awkward shifts in tone and emphasis, the movie goes lax for a stretch in the midsection, bogged down in scene after scene of crime-solving revelations in the form of explanatory conversations." There are just too many characters and events that oversaturate the narrative, violating the cardinal rule of screen writing: "show don't tell." Nonetheless, "Man From Reno" is the type of film that one should watch twice. Since the bulk of the film is in Japanese, it's difficult following who is who and exactly what's happening in terms of the plot. The cinematography is by veteran Richard Wong who makes this low budget project appear as if it's a high budget studio film.The "Man From Reno" denouement strikes me having roots in neo-noir—particularly the 70s classic, "Chinatown." Both feature villains who "get away with it" but somehow "Reno's" ending is not as special or striking as "Chinatown." "Man From Reno" is a smart looking feature which features interesting characters and plot shifts, that perhaps needed a bit more thought, shaping and paring, particularly in the second act.

csaunders-cody I really enjoyed this movie. It had a great twist at the end. The actors were fantastic. I loved how inexpensive it was for the movie to be developed and produced. Furthermore, the fact that the movie title is "Man from Reno" and the movie does not ever happen in Reno, I find fascinating— that is that the director could pull off such a successful flick when the setting is not taking place in Reno. I had the grand opportunity to view this movie in Wichita, Kansas at the Tall Grass Film Festival. I liked it so much that I want to own it. What I liked the most is how humor was introduced into the flick. So many times, subtle humor caught me off guard and made me laugh (inside not out loud) and the mysterious action kept rolling on and on. One negative part to this plot was that the police sheriff broke down the door into Aki's room when he did not know that Kazuki's character would or would not be there—drama for a neat scene was created, I suppose. I certainly recommend this film. It was a great way to spend an afternoon. And it lived up to the Tallgrass promise of the "second funnest thing you can do in the dark."